This invention relates generally to portable scrapers used for scraping protective films from a substrate and, more particularly, to a ticket scraper having a slider member capable of holding a coin which may be displayed when retracted and used as a scraping blade when extended.
Scratch-off type lottery tickets are very common and are regularly purchased by many people at grocery and convenience stores. Many ticket purchases, however, have no convenient means for scraping the protective film from the ticket in order to reveal whether or not they have purchased a winning ticket. The consumer""s loose change often provides the needed scraping means. Although several devices have been proposed in the art for scraping the film from a ticket, these devices do not provide a convenient scraping device which also provides a visual association between the scraping device and the state sponsoring the lottery game through the use of a commemorative coin indicating the sponsoring state.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a scraping device which can hold a commemorative coin for extension and retraction relative to a housing. Further, it is desirable to have a scraping device which can display a commemorative coin at a retracted position and can utilize said coin as a scraping blade at an extended position. It is also desirable to have a scraping device in which a commemorative coin may be easily removed and replaced.
Therefore, a ticket scraper and coin display device according to the present invention includes a housing having a front section removably coupled to a rear section in a snap-fit relationship defining an interior cavity. The lower edges of the front and rear sections, which form a lower end of the scraper device, define an opening through which a coin may be extended. The front section further defines a centrally disposed circular aperture which serves as a window for viewing a coin held within the housing. The rear section defines a longitudinal slot.
The scraping device includes a slider member having a clamping member removably coupled to an actuator button. The clamping member includes a pair of annular arms suitable for frictionally holding a commemorative one-dollar state coin. The actuator button rests in an elongate recess formed in an outer surface of the rear section along the slot and includes a flange extending through the slot and snappably coupled to the clamp member. Therefore, the clamping member along with the coin held thereby may be moved longitudinally upon a user manipulation of the actuator button with a thumb or finger. The clamping member is slidable along a longitudinal path within the housing between a first retracted configuration in which the coin is completely visible through the centrally disposed front section aperture and a second configuration partially extending from the lower end opening.
Therefore, a general object of the invention is to provide a scraping device which can selectably hold a coin in a retractable storage position or an extended position for use as a scraping blade.
Another object of the invention is to provide a scraping device, as aforesaid, in which a coin held therein may be viewed through a display window in a housing when at a retracted configuration.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a scraping device, as aforesaid, having a two-piece housing that may be selectively opened for placing a coin therein corresponding to indicia imprinted on the housing.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a scraping device, as aforesaid, which is easy to manufacture and use.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention.